Spring and Birthday

 

 

Michael loves math and it's funny how his personality comes through in his writing explanations. "It's easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy."

 

Jim was doing yardwork and the kids decided to make their own southern comfort living space from things they found in the garage. So many things about this picture make me laugh.

 

We went with the Koffords to some horse stables to celebrate Kiersten's birthday.

 

Nicole grooming the pony.

 

Jake and Diana grooming the other pony. The kids were all a little nervous so it was a great way to get used to being near the ponies.

 

Nicole was the first of our family to go and she did a great job with a brave smile.

 

Jacob gripped the saddle so tight there was no way he was sliding off or going anywhere! I love how by the time they came back they were each grinning from ear to ear!

 

Michael wanted to groom both sides of the pony and was asking a million questions. I enjoyed seeing him learn all about the pony, especially since he had been so nervous before. So good for them to try new things!

 

Diana was very unsure about riding. The horse decided to do a little shake of his mane right after she got on and you could see by her face that she was either going to love it or burst into tears. Fortunately, the lady in charge and everyone else helped tip the scales the right way and she ended up feeling on top of the world!

 

Diana knows how to eat a cupcake- all at once!

 

The second time around, Diana was all smiles and waves. The kids each went three times and loved every second. We were so blessed because a huge downpour started not five minutes after we finished our party!

 

Katy isn't feeling so great today so I'm at home with her today. I thought it was funny that of all the toys, she is holding the Hulk. My little sweetie really likes playing with him for some reason. I guess with no Barbies you have to improvise?

 

Phoenix is doing really well. He is a voracious eater and will jump into the container that Jim pours the bugs from before Jim can even finish dumping the bugs into Phoenix's dish.

 

He gets around great on his little stump and is really friendly with the kids.

 

Flare and Phoenix talking to each other.

 

My birthday was this last week and Jim organized a little playdate get together with some of my friends. It was paradise to sit and talk while he set everything up and chased around Diana and Katy.

 

For my birthday present, I asked Jim if we could visit Duke Gardens without the kids. My awesome sister Marian watched the D and Katy and we drove out there. We paid for our parking and a few minutes later it started to rain. Sometimes pouring, sometimes sprinkling, but we just got umbrellas and enjoyed the beauty because it wasn't cold at all.

 

Some levels of the garden were plants all of one color- yellow, pink, lavender, etc. Stunning to see the variation of each color.

 

Everything was so lush and colorful, layered with different looks and colors.

 

Prettymuch every single plant is labeled and we enjoyed recognizing some and getting great ideas for others we liked.

 

Overall a beautiful morning with just the two of us. The perfect birthday present.

 

Pond with huge goldfish and lily pads.

 

Snowball  flower clusters as big as softballs!

And finally, one of our own rhododendrons started blooming this week. Such incredible beauty! I was blessed to have such a fun birthday. Jim took two days off of work. The first day we spent time getting a new dryer (the gift of being able to do laundry!) and food storage like water bottles that I can't do right now. We had the park playdate, date to Duke Gardens, the horseback riding party, and dinner with friends. I feel like the weekend was so relaxing and fun, and a great little break as we prepare to welcome our 6th child and as Jim gets back to work. A very blessed weekend with those I love!

Spring Break, Katy is 2, Cat Weekend, Hello Phoenix!

 

Spring Break had great weather, so we went looking for wide open parks and fun! This park has a huge grassy field where the boys could kick the soccer ball as hard and far as they wanted!

 

Around the field is a 1/4 mile of sidewalk and the kids love going all the way around. I love that I can see them the whole time.

 

There's a playground next to the field too.

 

Sweet Katy checking out every button, wheel and lever.

 

Panorama of our new favorite park!

 

The climbing toys are Diana's favorite.

 

Jim got a day off during Spring Break and we went out for lunch. Everyone is waving hello!

 

We continued our park trek through the week.

 

Everything is blossoming, this is our golden delicious dwarf apple tree. The "stick" looks great this year too, but just has leaves, no flowers. I guess we'll be waiting at least another year for that.

 

General Conference weekend is always a wonderful time. Sundays are tricky since the sessions don't start until noon, so this time we went to a nearby lake and had the kids sketch animals they saw.

 

It was so peaceful and despite being a little chilly, the kids loved spying animals. The heron and some turtles were favorites.

Some outdoor time always helps the kids settle before the sessions.

 

For family night, we listened to President Monson's talk and I told the kids to write down a quote they liked. Then after the talk, they made a picture with their oil pastels that made them think of the quote.

 

The kids put these quotes up in their room and felt so good about their work.

 

Flare is just so pretty. We tried for three months to see if Spike would show any interest in Flare, and nothing besides territorial behavior ever occurred. So frustrating!

 

 

Jake at soccer practice. It's so fun to see him aggressively try to defend or make a goal. He's had shots on goal each game he tries so hard!

 

During his practices, the kids love riding bikes or playing tag in the park. In the lovely weather it makes a great family fun time during the week.

 

The elementary school puts on a marathon each year. The kids do 25 miles over 3 months at home, and then everyone does the final 1.2 miles together. They start the kids with the oldest grade first. I was surprised to see Michael come in so soon, he really ran fast!

 

Then Nicole and Kiersten came a few minutes later, holding hands to help each other finish! Seeing them run together was so sweet.

 

Jacob went by so fast I could only get a picture of his back, he was thrilled to get to run this year!

 

We adopted a cat. A light brown mackeral tabby. He warmed up to the kids right away, prettymuch chose us at the shelter.

 

Beautiful and friendly though he was, Diana and Katy were just too close to hurting him all the time and I felt like I'd never be comfortable with the cat alone with either one. Add that to him marking his territory on Nicole's bed, and we realized it was a big mistake. So two days later, we returned Mack and hope someone adopts this amazing cat soon.

 

Besides, I have plenty of cuddly sweet cuties ready to sit on the cat furniture, crawl in my lap, beg for food, etc.

 

Katy is such an amazing little girl. She cleans up her own spills without being asked! One day I was getting dinner ready and I turn around and there is Katy, setting each place at the table with forks. She just intuitively figured out what I needed and was doing it.

 

Katy turned two this week!

 

The candles really scared her, which is totally understandable. We teach kids to stay away from fire and then stick some flames right in front of them.

 

After we blew them out for her, she got more excited and eventually was ready to stick her fork in the whole cake before I could get her a slice.

 

Yesterday at Jake's game the weather was gorgeous. The kids played at the park and Jake was running all over no matter his position. He figured out if you run for the ball as it goes out of bounds, you get to do the kick or throw in. So he was constantly going above and beyond to get the ball and it was fun to see all the action.

 

 

We took Spike to the breeder we bought our dragons from. Turns out there is a reason we couldn't get our dragons to breed. Spike is a girl!! We've named her Bella and she has loved the extra attention, it's almost as if she knows that we finally know. Poor thing!

 

The breeder had an red leatherback tiger that he wanted to keep. This dragon lost part of a limb when he was little and a cage mate thought it was a cricket. When we brought our lizards to show the breeder, he really liked how both Flare and -surprise I'm a girl-Bella looked. We told him about our plans to breed and he felt bad he'd made the mistake of Bella's gender (we bought her very young and it is very hard to tell on dragons especially that young). He sold us this leatherback as long as we promised to give him a male leatherback from a clutch. We need to beef this new guy up for a few months before breeding, but we can't wait to see the results! We've named him Phoenix.

 

 

Flare (and Bella) have both totally reacted to Phoenix already with lots of waving. Phoenix has done lots of head bobbing and beard darkening, so now we just wait it out.

 

The kids chilling in the dragon den this morning.

 

It seems fitting that we would own a dragon missing part of a leg since Jim works with amputees on a daily basis. He is eating and going around his new cage just fine. Welcome home little guy.